2011/09/06

Chenopodium pallidicaule trials

So I finally managed to grab a few chenopodium pallidicaule seeds, there we go:

These seeds look awfully like chenopodium album seeds, so why bother with them?
Because they are said to be extremely nutritious? Like if I mind, then so is C. Album.
Because they are easy to grow and tend to self sow? Bah, C. Album is a full weed too.
Then why?
Well, this pallidicaule should have some remarkable properties on the frost resistance side: it should be able to stand -3C frosts while flowering and can generally survive brief frosts down to -8C or even -10C and seeds mature at 15C.
Given these properties, sowing at the beginning of february might be feasible.

On the hot side, 25-28C is said to be the maximum temperature and this contitutes a strong limitation.
Also, C. pallidicaule seems to require strong light, that's another limitation.

The seeds should have a dormancy of a few weeks and this should prevent them from germinating like quinoa, directly on the plant.

 All of this is practically non-verified, I need to check if it's true.

Last year I've witnessed C. Album survive deep frosts and a snow cover, I need to compare its behaviour with C. Pallidicaule.

 Today I'm sowing a first batch of seeds in order to multiply what I've got.

Edit: I haven't sown it yet. Still too hot, it might compromise the seedlings. I think I'll sow this sunday.

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